|
|
|
Pool Installation Problems
Tips on How Not to Have a
Pool Installed
By Mark J.
Donovan
|
|
I recently had an above ground pool installed. In a nutshell it was a huge
pain in the neck. And all because I broke my three cardinal rules when
hiring a contractor (1) I failed to talk to the pool contractor in person,
(2) I did not get the pool installation contract in writing and (3) I did
not make reference checks. All I did was select the pool contractor’s name
from a “Certified List” provided by the national pool manufacturer that we
bought our pool from.
|
After calling a few names on the pool installer list provided to us, we were
eventually able to get one of them to call us back. It only took about a week,
in late April, for a return phone call. You’d think that April would be a prime
month for pool contractors to want to flesh out their pool installation schedule
for late spring in New Hampshire. Apparently it wasn’t the case.
Anyways, the guy that we did finally connect with told us he’d be out to look at
the jobsite in a couple of days. Keep in mind, we were replacing our old pool
with a new one of exactly the same size and shape, and I had already removed the
old pool. All that was left in our backyard was a nice and level sandy pad area
for the new pool to be installed. We explained this fact to the pool contractor
and he agreed he would take off a whole whopping $75 from his normal pool
installation cost, even though he typically needs a Bobcat and a couple yards of
sand to be brought in for a brand new pool installation, usually a couple of
hundred dollars in contractor costs. The fact, however, that he was the only
pool installer that had called us back left me with no other options. Basically
I had to suck it up, and take it like every other homeowner who has been screwed
by a contractor.
|
|
Three weeks (not days) after our initial phone call, the pool contractor finally
showed up at our doorstep, unannounced and while we were not home. He reviewed
the pool installation site and simply left his business card in the door. After
repeated calls, over a week time period, we finally connected up with him and he
gave us a verbal standard fixed price quote, again minus the $75. He said send
him a $100 check and he would immediately mail out a contract for us to sign. |
My wife and I, in a rush to get the pool installed, sent him the $100 check
the next day. Three weeks later we still had no contract from the pool
installer, but the $100 check, you betcha, he’d cached it 3 days after we sent
it in the mail.
Finally on a Saturday afternoon three weeks later he calls my wife’s cell phone
and says his guys will be over in 30 minutes to install the pool. Again,
basically no notice and we weren’t home. But the pool did get installed, or at
least most of it did. What really set me over the edge though was when we got
home one of his worker bees asked for a check for completing the pool install,
even though it wasn’t done. He also stated we would need to pay an extra fee for
them coming back to complete the installation when they could get water
delivered to the pool.
| Apparently the pool water company wasn’t open on Saturdays,
which the pool contractor knew, but we did not. As a result, the pool
contractor, via his worker-bee, communicated to us that there would be an
additional gas fee charge of, coincidently $75, for his guys to return on
Monday when the pool water truck could show up at our home. In addition, we
would have to pay separately for the pool water that he failed to ever
mention when he verbally quoted us the job, at the tune of another $480
charge. |
Photo By Mark Donovan |
After taking the phone from the worker-bee who was on with the pool
contractor, and who never showed up at the jobsite during the entire pool
installation, I blew up on him for his lack of communication and failure to
provide us with a contract after we had sent him his $100 deposit.
In the end, I wound up having to pay for the pool water bill separately and
paying the pool installation contractor another $30 for a “gas fee” to have his
crew come out another day to wrap up the project. And in the end, my wife and I
would up having to spend a couple of hours installing the pool ladder. For some
reason, that too wasn’t part of the “deal”. Why not, God only knows.
To conclude, this is a prime example of why you always have a contract in
writing. In addition, always have a face-to-face discussion with the contractor
so you can look him in the eye and get a sense of what type of person you are
going to be potentially dealing with. And finally, always ask for and check
references. In my case, I relied on the pool manufacturer’s recommendation. I
was stupid and bamboozled. Hopefully after reading this article you won’t make
the same mistakes I did.
Related Information
|
|
|
